After a long time, I can finally say I am READY to release this. After months, if not years, of hard work (well, maybe not that hard since I am lazy :P) I give to you....

SRB2 Chaos Domain
Version 2.1!Small little screenshot to show this thing is still alive!

Update log

Spoiler: 12/17/2013

Fix various bugs and over sights from the blue spring in SFZ2 to areas that broke in Multiplayer thanks to the Each Time linedef executor. And then some other odds and ins.

Spoiler: 12/10/2013

After a long wait, Chaos Domain 2.1 is released! It has been a long time since I made a new version, but I hope you guys have fun with this build. I will be the last one I can get out for awhile thanks to stuff going on in life.

Spoiler: 5/31/2012

Bug fix update, fixed a crash on SPZ3's boss and some other fixes.

STORY:

Spoiler:

After Eggman’s most recent set back, he was busy trying to come up with a new plan to defeat Sonic and his friends. He was lucky enough to find one of the Chaos Emeralds while searching for a place to start construction on a new base.

Using his last defeat as a key opportunity to lie low to study the emerald in greater detail, while doing so he had happen to find the diary of his Grandfather that made mention of the use of the Chaos Emeralds to manipulate space and time. Wishing to harness this power, he ran test after test trying figure out how to crack into the “Chaos Control”.

As time passed Eggman grew tired of taking precautions and decided to take a more direct approach, he attempted to split the emerald open. Unfortunately for him, Sonic and his friends found Eggman’s base when they were on the look for the Chaos Emeralds. In his hasty attempts at stopping Sonic, he started the process before the preparations were completed. A white flash erupted from the machine, slowly growing bigger and bigger, before engulfing the whole facility.

Sonic and his friends awoke finding themselves lying in a green meadow, with the sun setting over the mountains. Quickly noticing Eggman’s robots in the area, the group set of to figure out what happen and where they were at.

FEATURES:
Two full 3 act zones with custom bosses, and two 2 act zones!
Secrets hidden in the levels for extra re-play value!
New graphics for items, like rings, monitors, and more!
Custom scenery Items!
AND MORE!

Well, it's nice to see certain elements have changed since the betas I have played (for example, the obnoxious instant collapsing platforms over death pits in Sunken Terminal are gone) a new array of issues have come up with this version it would appear. I also found Stronghold Forest relatively boring all things considered, although it's much better now that sharps are not chasing the player everywhere.

During the first boss, the map sigsegvs when he attacks during the pinch phase. No idea what causes this, but other people were complaining about this on #srb2fun as well, so it appears to be a consistent problem.

Regarding the new emerald challenges, if you are going to include emerald challenges then make sure that the emerald tokens have been removed as well. It's quite possible for the player to find themselves completing an emerald challenge and recieving new award because they had already collected the corresponding emerald in a special stage. You can only keep challenges or special stages, not both.

Spoiler:

Regarding the emerald challenges themselves, they really need work. The first emerald challenge is an awful test of luck, it wouldn't be so bad if it was a logic based puzzle but it is currently a pure lottery as to whether you succeed or not. The second emerald challenge is just as bad, although for different reasons, even with the arrows to help guide you, a cramped maze & Ambush badniks is more annoying than enjoyable

Furthermore, you also need to scour your levels for any particularly nasty level design issues. For example in Stronghold Forest 2 there is an area where Sonic can get stuck forever with no escape. Or a sector in Sunset Pass 2 that is clearly designed to hold water, but is not tagged correctly.

Ultimately though, I enjoyed Sunset Pass, Eggmansion and Sunken Terminal plenty even with these concerns in mind, can't say I cared much for Stronghold Forest though.

The Stronghold Forest boss... oh FUCK is this boss annoying. First off, jumping on the chains is a chore, and I only seem to grab the chain 10% of the time I want to, possibly less. If that wern't enough, when he goes into the pinch phase, he actually can't hurt you without you doing something stupid, removing any form of challenge (which there barely was, since there are rings EVERYWHERE), making this a giant troll of a boss. He goes to one spot, stays for a bit, then moves, so you might as well just WAIT at a chain until he shows himself near you. And if he's in the middle, its very easy to miss from personal experience, but that just might be me. Sonic has a hell of a time here.

And as for the sounds, why is the checkpoint chime suddenly lower quality? Why do I hear a 30 second loop for 3 acts in the first level? Why did you have to use the S3&K invincibility tune even though that is embedded in our minds to the point that the mere THOUGHT of the theme sends us into frustration of hearing it for minutes at a time when Super in S3&K even though the actual tune is about 10 seconds long? Why is the quality of Sunken Terminal's tune so shitty? Why does the boss them loop so poorly? Why do my ears gotta put up with this shit?

I suppose I can give a full review later, but I'm not up to it ATM.

__________________

Quote:

<Nekoishi> HOW DO YOU JUST NOT NOTICE GIGANTIC BREASTS
<RedEnchilada> I remained ignorant to a set of titanic breasts for 17 years!

I've made a long comment, so I use spoilers.
1 hour to do this post...

Spoiler:

W. .. o. .. oah ... ah ... ah ... who ... hoa ...
I'll say what I have to say. I'll add with some pictures from time to time.

First, one thing is sure. I'm going to see ALL the people who participated to create new sprites for your wad. I would like to have all their sprites for my wad, because I felt like a new generation in your game. I am particularly attached to the rings, monitors, with shields ...
Speaking of monitors ... the 1-UP sprite is the old sprite SRB2. You must fix it.

I really wanted to create something, after seeing all these ideas.

Now my remarks.

TITLE SCREEN

Spoiler:

- Title Screen : Warning, lump TITLESKY is cut (background of the Title Screen) . You must rectify that.

SUNSET PASS ZONE

Spoiler:

- Sunset Pass Zone (Music is a remix of "Bridge Zone", a Game Gear / Master System version of Sonic The Hedgehog. I know everything about music.)
Although simple ... this is my favorite level. I saw this new generation of SRB2 .. and * Ahh, nice *. Act 2 is so nostalgic. I felt bad when I was playing this level ... when I saw how you've mastered the light and the palette color "sunset" ... I was very impressed.

- Invincibility : I like this new version, both at the level of sprites as music.

- Rocks "things" : I think their black colors are not adapted to the environment. In fact, these rocks are not suitable for a sweet meadow like this one.
- Cheackpoints : Argh. The sound quality is very low. You should keep the old sound of SRB2.

Spoiler:

Hello, Hinote ! What are you doing here ? How are you ? What are you doing ? What time is it ? You would not see Knuckles ? [...]

These enemies are not suitable mechanical here. Simple levels should contain only weak enemies ... like classics crawlas.

- Act 3 : Oohh ... the effect at night is extremely well controlled, that's fine.
Oh, I forgot ! It is very important ! You must rename the act 3 in "Sunset Pass Act 3," and certainly not in "Boss Attack" because SRB2 save each time the name changes. If your level is called "Boss Attack", the player can access to it directly if he has a GAME OVER.

STRONGHOLD FOREST

Spoiler:

STRONGHOLD FOREST (CEZ music)
Well then, here .. I do not like the style "Castle", but mostly I HEDGE Castle Eggman music. You had nothing do, it's just not my style. It depends on taste. When I switched to the new generation "Sunset" to the old generation "Castle Eggman" ... I was shocked. If you want next-gen music, you can ask me and my 6500 video game music + remixes !

Good. As I said, this is a theme that I dislike. Finally. We must correctly analyze to better understand. Your level has ideas and compositions performed well. There was a high level of technique. I am referring especially to the "earth shifting sands", or the grey lights.

I spotted a few things.

Spoiler:

Turn, turn, turn! But tell me, how do you turn ?
Yes, Sonic has noted that there is something illogical.

Spoiler:

When the Knights built the castle, they had ... pictures glitches.
No, Sonic, it did not exist at the time. But yes, KO.T.E, Sonic is right. You did not put textures here.

Spoiler:

Mushrooms, yes, I love them. I just want to know something : do you have to modify the code for these bouncy sectors ? I will need them one day.

Spoiler:

Uh .. Tails ? Are you there ? I have a small problem ...
Oh, no, he fell, he can not go back. Help Sonic. Add a spring.

Spoiler:

I can not ! I'm busy ! I look the scenery !
Thanks to you, Tails has a beautiful view. You've made a nice view.

EGG MANSION

Spoiler:

EGG MANSION
As this is the level of competition, I do not want to talk too much. Especially as the message begins to be long ...
Very good for detailed and contains lots of FOF without having lags. Good Job. For Act 2, since Sonic begins to penetrate the Eggman area, you could put an "famous area" ? Something like "the rising water (well, blood ..)" ... in the way of CEZ2. From time to time, I would like to have SURPRISING challenges. A level must not be identical throughout the level .. take ERZ2. He is certainly not the same throughout the long level. We can remember at some scenes, like the fight against the laser at the end of the level. For example.
The decor is half the level. The other half is the gameplay. You have to involve more challenges. I'm not talking about simple holes to jump ... I want real challenges. Challenges and I can not stop losing ! (I just think back to the first time I tried ERZ1.)

SUNKEN TERMINAL

Spoiler:

SUNKEN TERMINAL (Searching ... found ! SCRAP BRAIN ZONE REMIX ! And it was not easy. Good choice of music !)
... Wow. I saw the video, I was impressed. I tried the level, and ... well, it was like the video, we'll say.
Sunken Terminal is a level that has a theme of the 90s hard to master : yes, the Metro. The Metro, with his rails, his light effects, his industrial style that delights everyone. That's EXACTLY the style I'm looking at. I remember the times I went into town, or I walked into a Metro. I wanted to make a level on it, because the underground really appealed to me, and I thought, "and in SRB2, what would it be like ?" but I never had time to compose. I now have an overview, I know now the power of this style. I was sure it would make a box. STZ is simply a level that mimics real life, which has many details and a small dose of gameplay. However, the decor makes me forget this little gameplay defect.
- The water area of ​​bombs (Professionals of the slow like Tails will not be happy.) Immediately made me think of a nod to Drowned Downtown.
- Oh, and it is under the water I saw this : the sprite of the box 1-UP is the version of SRB2. You'll have to think about creating the next generation release sprite.
I don't have comic pictures, sorry.

CONCLUSION

Spoiler:

Conclusion :
1st : Sunset Pass (Nostalgia has always touched me. The acts 2 and 3 particularly moved me. Even if the gameplay is not fully present, do not forget that it's a "Nature" level. I greatly appreciates those who mastered the look "inside" the level (light). To me, this is very important in building level.)
2nd : Sunken Terminal (If all levels are as well as this one, we will have to pay to play SRB2. This level is full of ideas and work. Promise me to put rails in act 2 for that Sonic can walk on it !)
3th : Eggmansion (I don't like necessarily blood. It is a very good level, nothing more.)
4th : Stronghold Forest (When the levels on the podium are only very good levels, it is known that the latter is very good. Stronghold Forest has good things on the composition. It's the ONLY theme I do not like. Thus will vary depending on the player.)

Well, KO.TE.. I am very proud that you resume your game in hand. You've got potential, your game will be very good. After all the competitions you've won, failure is impossible.
You have my attention now.

Oh boy, what should I say? Obviously, this pack has been hyped as all hell since... I don't know, ever? You even took a contest by storm with a level that in retrospect seems pretty average to me. I get the feeling that everybody loves Chaos Domain to death, but I dunno...

I didn't enjoy this. I really didn't. These levels aren't bad or anything, in fact they're quite competently made. They have nice flow, carefully crafted texturing and architecture, good thing placement, good length etc. The list goes on. If I compiled a list of all technical flaws - you know, the ones I can put my finger on - it would be pretty short. But this pack is absolutely boring. It has no style. Everything looks and plays the same. I don't know, are you a one-trick pony or something (inb4 lolpony)?

Let me explain what I mean when I say that everything's the same: If it wasn't for the theming, all those generic corridors in every single zone could be swapped around at random. The only thing that sets them apart is the texturing, and unfortunately, you tend to stick to one specific texturing style for each level. There's no variation. Even when they're not just filler corridors, these rooms can hardly stand on their own. They're not excitingly designed. In fact, I feel like I'm rushing through these levels without ever stopping for a second and looking at what's around me, because there's nothing interesting to see.

I'm not talking about eye-candy here, it's more about the structure of the level. I don't see any natural progression in these levels. No build-up. No climax. Nothing exciting. It's like CEZ1 over and over again. A bunch of linear paths with a string of pretty uninteresting gimmicks and a level architecture that struggles to tie them all together. And fails more often than not. That style is suited for ERZ, but not for the nature-themed levels you have there.

Maybe it's just personal taste, but my ideal idea of a room in a nature-themed level (SRB2 are always designed in rooms) is one that lays out the path in such a way that it automatically makes you explore the room. I don't mean "search for the exit". Ack, I'm not good at explaining this. Take a tip from Thompson's levels. They have a nice way of making you spend enough time in a room to get to know it. Sometimes they're a bit confusing, but more often than not, they achieve a level of immersion that you can only dream of. Nah, that sounded too harsh. I hope you get what I mean.

Even though the other level aren't exactly better, I think Stronghold Forest is the best example of what's wrong with this pack. You obviously have no ideas for this zone. Neither the quicksand-like mud nor the mushrooms are ever used in a context that would interest me. They're just there. They're predictable. They're generic. They're not involving. So what else is in this zone? Crushers? Generic. Swinging spikeballs? Uh, they're okay, but they're not exactly unique enough to make me jump up and down. Hopping across tree stumps sticking out from a death pit? Not only is that horribly unimaginative, it's also pretty annoying. You see what I'm aiming at, right? The problem is not that you're using mechanics that were used to death already. No, everyone does that. The problem is that you don't use them in new ways. Please get yourself some original ideas for this zone. And I can't stress this enough: Don't just build the rooms around the gimmicks. Design the gimmicks with the level layout in mind. CEZ2's cannonball room suffered from this exact problem.

I'll postpone my comments on the rest of the levels until tomorrow, and hopefully I'll come up with a conclusion so I can give you my awesome and helpful feedback that is totally not chaotic rambling and will totally help you with the problems you're facing. Hah, I wish.

It is very comprehensive, as a notice, Spirit. And I partly agree with you on the fact "boring". I myself have talked about some challenges.
Personally, I rather liked, because usually , I like more the apparence (when I talk about textures or color pallets, lights ...) than the gameplay. But there are actually a little lack of ...punch. I think KO.T.E prefers to build impressive levels.

After seeing deeper the level, I think that what blocks the gameplay is...too narrow spaces. Some may think that what I say is absurd ... but I have an impression that some small places prevent K.O.T.E show what he is capable about the gadgets.

Whoa, the boss sigsevs? I must have looked passed that when I was fixing some other stuff, seeing I got finished with the last minute tweakings at about midnight or so and I was getting tired. I'll get a bug fix version up ASAP.

did you fix how diagonal ring boxes SHUDDER IN UTTER TERROR at the mere sight of them? also when are you going to stop being lazy and write words going in the opposite way instead of just mirroring them? Or just flat out not obnoxiously putting words on the side of monitors?

__________________

Quote:

<Nekoishi> HOW DO YOU JUST NOT NOTICE GIGANTIC BREASTS
<RedEnchilada> I remained ignorant to a set of titanic breasts for 17 years!

So, it seems the current SFZ is gonna bite the dust, like I was thinking. But, since I LOVE to plan ahead....
I had started on a new SFZ1 before I ever even planned to release the demo, so the next release will have a NEW SFZ1 in it. :P
(Confound SRB2 and it's breaking of screenshots, it messed up the last one ;-;)